Means for transmitting power and reversing its motion



No. 624,973. Patented May l6, i899. H.-F'. PBOBEBT. MEANS FORTRANSMITTING POWER AND REVERSING ITS MOTION.

(A'nnlication filed Apr. 8, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Shaefs-Shet I.

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. No. 624,973. I 4 Patented May l6, I899.

H. F PROBERT.

MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING POWER AND BEVERSING ITS MOTION.

(Application filed Apr. 8, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets$heet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUBERT F. PROBERT, OF. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING POWER AND REVERSING ITS MOTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No."624,973, dated May 16,1899. Application filed April 8, 1897. $erial No. 631,273. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, HUBERT F. PRoBER'r, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Ohicago, in the'county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means forTransmitting Power and Reversing its Motion, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates more particularly to reversing-gears forboat-propellers, whereby the continuous movement of the motor-shaft inone direction may be converted or reversed to the opposite direction asapplied to the propeller, thus avoiding the necessity of stopping andreversing the motor when it is desired to rotate the propeller in theopposite direction. I

My invention has especial reference to a reversing-gear in which themotor-shaft and propeller-shaft have direct and convertible gearconnections capable of being alternately thrown into and out ofoperation; and my invention has for its primary object to cause a singlemovement of the reversing lever or handle in one direction to disconnectthe direct gear and connect the convertible gear, and vice versa.

Another object of my invention is to utilize the resistance against thepropeller for forcing the direct gears together.

A still further object is to provide means for adjusting the throw ofthe reversing lever or handle, whereby its angle with reference to thehorizontal may be varied when at the limit of either extremity of itsthrow, and

thus be capable of being adjusted to suit the convenience of theengineer.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts bywhich the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearingare attained, all as fully described with referenceto the accompanyingdrawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings, Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectional Viewof the stern end of a boat provided with an engine and propellerequipped with my improved reversinggear. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sideelevation of the reversing-gear, partly broken away and showing theparts in the condition they as 'line 3 3, Fig. 2, and'extended throughthe internal parts. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the lower half of thecasing. Fig. 6 is a perspective view looking at the outer side of one ofthe bevel gears or cones hereinafter described, and Fig. 7 is a faceview of the inclines on one side of the interior of the casing.

As before mentioned, my invention is more particularly adapted for usein connection with propellers butit will of course be understood,nevertheless, that the same is equally appropriate for any mechanismwhere it is desired that the continuous movement of a rotating shaft ormember shall be converted into rotary movement in some other memberturning to the right or to the left.

In applying my invention to a boat-pro peller the propeller 1 is mountedupon the outer end of a propeller-shaft 2, which in turn is journaled ina suitable stuffing-box in the stern-block 4 of the boat 5 in theordinary or any suitable manner. The engine or motor, which is hereshown as 'a gas-engine, is so mounted that its driving-shaft 6 will bein alinement with the propeller-shaft 2 and is rigidly held in place bythe parts of the engine connected therewith or by other suitable means,while the propeller-shaft is capable of limited longitudinal movement.Mounted upon the end of each of these shafts 2 6 is a clutch member 7 8,respectively, which, as more clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, areprovided with ratchet-teeth so formed that when brought together therotation of the engineshaft in one direction will be imparted di rectlyto the propeller-shaft 2 in the same di= rection. These clutch members 78 constitute the direct gears herein referred to and are caused toengage and disengage by the longitudinal movement of the propeller-shaft2, which is effected by mechanism presently to be described. Alsosecured to each of the shafts 2 6 is a conical or beveled gear 9 10,which for the sake of convenience of construction may be formed on theclutch memforced out of engagement when it is desired to reverse themovement of the propellershaft 2 by a conical or beveled gear 11, whichis arranged with its axis at right angles to the shafts 2 6 and whenforced in between the gears 9 10 serves not only to separate theclutches 7 8 but to communicate the motion of the gear 10 to the gear 9and to convert such motion to the opposite direction to that in whichthe motor-shaft 6 rotates. These gears 9 10 11 might of course be in theform of ordinary bevel-pinions and the same general result accomplished;but in order that the propeller may be reversed while the engine istraveling at high speed and all parts may be caused to accurately fittogether without danger of damage or slipping the gear 11 is preferablyin the form of a plain cone constructed of any suitable materialconducive to frictionsuch, for instance, as laminae of rawhide, as shownin Fig. lt-surrounding a spool 12 and clamped together at each end bythe plates 13 14:, the spool being mounted upon a stud shaft or pin 15,and the gears 9 10 have plain surfaces, with which the rawhide cone 11engages. Another advantage in utilizing plain friction-gears for thispurpose is that when the cone 11 is moved inwardly for forcing theclutch members 7 8 asunder the friction of such cone against the gear 9is insu flicient to cause damage or tointerfere with the direct rotationof the propeller-shaft until it has been forced inwardly a sufficientdistance to crowd the clutch members 7 8 apart, whereupon the directconnection between the shafts is broken and the motion of thepropeller-shaft is reversed and continued through the intermediary ofthe gears 9 1O 11, which gears constitute the convertible gear hereinreferred to.

The friction cone or gear 11 is preferably supported by the motor-shaft6,and it is moved into and out of engagement with the gears 9 10 by thesame movements which force the clutch. members 7 8 toward and from eachother. In accomplishing this I employ a shell or casing consisting oftwo members 16 17, divided horizontally and fitted together, so as toincase the gears and clutch members, and

secured in any suitable manner to the bottom of the boat or othersupport, the purpose of the Lscrew 20 and jam-nuts 21 being to hold thesections of the shell together and at the same time adjust theangularity of the stud shaft 15 with reference to the horizontal, forthe purpose hereinafter explained. Mounted loosely upon each of theshafts 2 6 is an eccentric 23 24, respectivelyyupon which the shell 1617 is journaled, each section of the shell being provided on each sidewith a semicircular collar 25, and these semicircular collars beingfitted together around each of the eccentrics 23 and 24 constitute thebearing in -which the eccentrics turn and by which the shell issupported. These eccentrics 23 2e are arranged concentrically with eachother that is, with their major portions on the same side of the shafts2 6-and they are connected together so as to be rotated simultaneouslyby any suitable meanssuch, for instance, as a yoke 26, having each ofits ends secured to one of the arms 27,- formed on the eccentrics 23 21, respectively, such yoke being also given the form of a handle orlever 28, and consisting of a strip of flexible metal or material foldedupon itself and secured together at its mid-length, so that itsextremities may separate to permit the clutch members 7 8 to go andcome. Thus it will be seen that when the lever 28 is thrown in onedirection the gear 11 (assuming it to be elevated) will be forceddownwardly between the gears 9 10 by virtue of the eccentrics carryingthe upper half of the shell downwardly with reference to the shafts 2 6,the pivoted standard 22 in the meanwhile permitting the shell to makethe necessary longitudinal movement to follow the action of theeccentrics. This motion forces the clutch members 7 8 apart and reversesthe movement of the propeller-shaft, as before described. A reversemovement of the lever 28 will bring the wider portions of the eccentricon top of the shafts 2 6, and consequently carry the casing or shellupwardly and move the gear 11 out of contact with the gears 9 10. Inorder now that this latter movement of the lever 28 may also bring theclutch member 7 up to its work against the clutch member 8, I providethe inner ends of the collars 25 with one or more inclines 29, and uponthe inner end of each of the eccentrics 23 I form a flange 30, whosevertical outer edge is also provided with a corresponding number eachother, so that the inclined portions will be out of parallel and projectat an angle to each other, as more clearly illustrated in Fig. 5, andthe inclines on the eccentrics 23 24 have a like arrangement, so thattheir prominent portions will fit into the depressed portions of theinclines 29. Thus it will be seen that should the lever 28 be thrown inthe direction away from the observer, as viewed in Fig. 3,

IIO

member 8.

' gears 9 and 10.

the prominent portions of the inclines 31, wedging in between theprominent portions of the inclines 29 on the collars 25, would causetheshell16 17 to move toward the motor or engine and would also causethe gear 9 and clutch member 7 to move toward and bring the latter intoengagement with the clutch The instant the apeXes of the teeth on theclutch members come into engagement and the rotation of the shaft 2begins the resistance of the propeller will crowd the shaft 2 inwardlyand force the teeth of the clutch members into complete engagement, eventhough the inclines 2Q 31 should be insu fficient for this purpose. Thenthe reversing-lever 28 is thrown in the opposite direction, theprominent portions of the inclines 31 on the eccentrics leave theprominent portions of the inclines 29 and come opposite the depressedportions of the latter inclines, and at the same time the eccentrics 2324 carry the cone 11 downwardly and crowd it snugly between the gears 910, the shell 16 17 being permitted to move back awayfrom the engine toits normal position, and thus allowing the cone 11 to center itselfequally between the In order that the axis of the gear 11 may passdirectly through the axis of the shaft 6 when the gear is down betweenthe gears 9 10 in its operative position, its studshaft 15 is setnormally at a slight tangent to the'shaft 6, as shown in Fig. 2, so thatby the time it descends to its operative position it will have arrivedinto line with one of the diameters of the shaft 6.

It is of course evident that if the gears 9 10 were permitted tocontinue to move apart as long as the downward movement of the cone 11continued such cone could never gain sufficient grip or friction toefiectually transmit the motion. Therefore in order that the separatingmovement of the gears 9 10 may cease after the clutch members 7 8 havesufficiently separated and the cone 1 1 may continue downwardly, each ofthe inclines 29 31 is provided at its depressed portion with a shortstretch 32 and at its prominent portion with a short stretch 33, whoseplanes are parallel with each other, and also with correspondingportions on the diametrically opposite incline, so that the prominentportion 33 of the incline on the eccentric will slide'along the plainsurface 32 at the depressed end of the incline 29 on the collar 25, andthus permit the lever 28 to continue its throw for a short distance, andconsequently carry the eccentrics and cone 11 still farther downwardwithout permitting any further separation of the gears 9 10, therebyenabling the operator to jam the cone 11 between such gears withsufficient force to transmit the motion before the movement of the lever28 is checked by the precipitous portions 34 of the inclines coming intoengagement.

Should the engineer 'find that the lever 28 when at the extremity of itsstroke is in an inconvenient position, the same may be adjusted byraisingor lowering oneside of the shell 16 17 through the agency of thescrew 20 and jam-nuts 21.

- 2'7 is a stop on the arm 27 for limiting the said shafts, a movablegear-wheel adapted to connect said gearwheels together, a supportmounted upon one of said shafts and carrying said movable gear-wheel, aneccentric for moving said support and carrying said movable gear-wheelinto and out of engagement, and means for throwing said direct gearstogether, substantially as set forth.

2. A device for the purpose described having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft, direct detachable gears con nectin g saidshafts together, bevel-gears secured to said shafts respectively, amovable beveljor conical gear adapted to wedge between said bevel-gears,

a support for said conical gear, an eccentric for moving said support,said support and cocentric being provided with engaging inclines formoving said direct gears into engagement, substantially as set forth.

3. A device for the purpose described having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft detachably connected to said motor-shaft, abevel-gear on each of said shafts, a movable cone adapted to be crowdedbetween said bevel-gears, a support for said movable gear movablelongitudinally and transversely of said shafts, and means for movingsaid support toward the shafts for crowding said movable gear betweensaid bevel-gears and forcsaid shafts together when said support makesthe reverse movement, substantially as set forth.

4 A device for the purpose described having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft detachably connected to said motor-shaft, abevel-gear on each of said shafts, a movable conical gear adapted to becrowded between 'said'bevel-gears, an eccentric journaled on each ofsaid shafts, a support for said conical gear journaled on saideccentrics and being provided with inclines, and inclines operated bysaid eccentrics and engaging with said first inclines for forcing saidshafts together when the eccentrics throw said conical gear out ofengagement, substantially as set forth.

5. Adevice for the purpose described-having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft.

detachably connected thereto, a bevel-gear on each of said shafts, amovable gear adapted to be crowded between said bevel'gears,means forthrowing said movable gear into and out of engagement and inclines forthrowing said shafts into engagement operating in unison with said meansand being provided with IIS.

plain, straight or inactive surfaces whereby said movable gear maycontinue to crowd between said bevel-gears after the latter have reachedthe extremity of their separating movement, substantially as set forth.

6. A device for the purpose described having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft detachably connected thereto, a conical gearon each of said shafts, an eccentric journaled on each of said shaftsand having a circumferential flange provided with inclines 011 the sidethereof, a movable gear adapted to be crowded between said bevel-gears,a support for said movable gear journaled upon said eccentrics andhaving inclines engaging with said first inclines and adapted to forceone of said shafts and bevel-gears toward the other, said inclines beingprovided with plain surfaces 32, and a lever secured to said eccentrics,substantially as set fort.

7. A device for the purpose described having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft detachably connected to said motor-shaft,

convertible gears also for connecting said shafts together and beingprovided with a detachable member, a support for said detachable membersupported upon said shafts, means for oscillating said support withreference to said shafts and means for adjusting the normal position ofsaid support with reference to said'shafts, substantially asset forth.

8. A device for the purpose described having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft detachably connected thereto, convertiblegears also for connecting said shafts having a detachable member, aneccentric on each of said shafts, a support for said detachable memberjournaled upon said eccentrics, and a flexible standard connected to oneside of said support for limiting its rotation, substantially as setforth.

9. A device for the purpose described having in combination amotor-shaft, a driven shaft detachably connected thereto, convertiblegears also for connecting said shafts together having-a detachablemember, a support for said detachable member, the axis of saiddetachable member being arranged normally out of line with the center ofsaid shafts,means for moving said support toward said shafts andcarrying the axis of said detachable member into line with the center ofsaid shafts and forcing said shafts apart, substantially as set forth.

HUBERT F. PROBERT.

Witnesses:

EDNA B. J OHNSON, F. A. HOPKINS.

